• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is preparing contingency measures for the May 2025 midterm elections due to the possible eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
Comelec regional director for Negros Island Region Lionel Marco Castillano, said he directed Negros Occidental Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Ananoria and the local election officers to identify alternative voting centers in coordination with the local disaster risk reduction and management councils.
Castillano presided over the Provincial Joint Security Coordinating Center meeting on Wednesday (Nov. 13) at Camp Alfredo Montelibano in Bacolod City.
Alert Level 2 still prevails over Mt. Kanlaon after its June 3 phreatic eruption.
In the past several weeks, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has reported steam and ash emissions while the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has issued daily ash fall warnings to residents in affected areas.
Castillano acknowledged that they will face problems on the conduct of elections in affected areas should there be a massive eruption.
If Alert Level 3 will be declared, there will be partial evacuation of residents, which will also be followed by the transfer of voting centers, he added.
Should it be elevated to Alert Level 4, it will be a total evacuation, and may lead to the delay in the holding of election in those areas.
Castillano has visited the municipalities of La Castellana and Moises Padilla in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental, and met with the local chief executives and Phivolcs personnel to assess the ongoing situation in those areas.
“We need to prepare this early as we do not want a postponement of elections in these areas,” Castillano said, explaining that delays would incur additional costs and pose challenges for teachers serving as election officials, and could impact national election results.
He also noted that many schools used as voting centers are designated evacuation sites during natural disasters, which could further complicate election preparations.
As to security preparations, Castillano said he still doesn’t see any problem as they have not received reports of the existence of private armed groups or intense political rivalry, based on reports of the Philippine National Police. | GB
